How the God of the Hebrews became THE GOD of the Western World (Part 3)

 THE NEW TESTAMENT

In the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, we learn that Jesus Christ was born during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus and his Judean client-king, Herod the Great. In other words, the Jewish people were still under the domination of the Romans, and there weren't any obvious signs that the Hebrew Scriptures and God were about to supplant the many other gods of the Empire. Indeed, there was a real sense throughout the Roman World that the primary allegiance of its citizens was expected to be directed towards the emperor himself.

In fact, throughout the gospel accounts, the supremacy of the Romans is made explicit and absolute. Jesus himself is reported to have said "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s." (see Matthew 22:21) Moreover, all four of the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) make plain that Jesus was surrendered by the Jews to the Roman authorities and crucified by them.

Likewise, throughout the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul, the authority and power of Rome appears absolute. Indeed, the book of Acts concluded with Paul as a prisoner of the Romans (see Acts 28). And, although these writings also make plain that the Christian religion is spreading around the Empire, there is still absolutely no hint at the eventual triumph of that religion or the Hebrew Scriptures and God. Indeed, the fact that the New Testament was written in the Greek language, not the language of the Hebrews, suggests a further diminution of the religion and culture of the Jews.

Finally, in his The Wars of the Jews (see especially Books 5, 6 and 7), Josephus recounted how the Romans ruthlessly suppressed a Jewish rebellion in 70 CE and destroyed the temple and much of Jerusalem. Thus, at the close of the First Century, the Jews (and the still new sect of their religion, the Christians) were not in a very favorable position within the Roman Empire. In fact, it is hard to imagine more pessimistic prospects for the Jews or their Christian cousins! Indeed, the facts on the ground at the close of the First Century did not bode well for either group.

In the Second Century of the Common Era, the narrative also did not improve for them. The Jews suffered still further defeats at the hands of the Romans and ceased to exert any meaningful influence or presence even within their historic homeland. Moreover, their Christian brethren were actively persecuted by a number of Roman emperors, who also made several significant and noteworthy attempts to suppress the religion itself. We don't even know how many Christians suffered martyrdom during this period, but we do know that there were many!

Fast forward now to 2021. Even in a world where the Christian religion has been characterized by many as being in decline, we have the circumstance that the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are accepted by most of the Western World as the basis for most of their philosophy and religion. Moreover, although there is widespread debate about the extent of its influence on our cultural and political life, there is no disputing the fact that the Old and New Testaments have exerted a powerful influence on both. Indeed, the history of the almost two thousand years since Christ's death, burial and resurrection have demonstrated the complete triumph of the Hebrew God and Scriptures over the gods and writings of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. For me, this triumph is an extraordinary event, and it convinces me that there is something much greater at work here than just the fanciful notions of a few insignificant humans. What about you?